GM's thread about nothing (16 Viewers)

[General Malaise]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

Hey Early, these guys are from Newfoundland!

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

I take the back as I actually will be sitting around doing nothing, only I'll be doing it with these guys on stage and a cold beer in my hands.

When I was growing up the Louisville Zoo used to host Summer concerts featuring the Louisville Orchestra, dubbed "The Roarchestra." I loved going to those with my family. They had places to throw out blankets, sold food and booze for the parents and my sister and I got to run around like fools with Elephants and Tigers and all kinds of cool animals I wanted to ride surrounding us.

It's a fun evening for sure. Good family activity and gotta love the price tag!

Sister and nephew gettin' down

Do you have any other pictures of your sister?In the shower.

 

[jplvr]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

at dare guy needs ta lern how ta pik a banjo.

 

[General Malaise]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

I take the back as I actually will be sitting around doing nothing, only I'll be doing it with these guys on stage and a cold beer in my hands.

When I was growing up the Louisville Zoo used to host Summer concerts featuring the Louisville Orchestra, dubbed "The Roarchestra." I loved going to those with my family. They had places to throw out blankets, sold food and booze for the parents and my sister and I got to run around like fools with Elephants and Tigers and all kinds of cool animals I wanted to ride surrounding us.

It's a fun evening for sure. Good family activity and gotta love the price tag!

Sister and nephew gettin' down

Do you have any other pictures of your sister?In the shower.

Your memory....it's uh.....well let's just say the fall might have, uh....comprimised it. There's pics of my sis in this very thread.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Your memory....it's uh.....well let's just say the fall might have, uh....comprimised it. There's pics of my sis in this very thread.

 

[General Malaise]

The immediate post after this one won't make any sense whatsoever. Whatever the hell it was I thought I was posting here initially was dumb. But what's not dumb is what's followed. It's a collective work, with contributions from some of this boards best and brightest. In here, you'll find wedding updates from me, adventures in the life of St. Louis Bob, a romantic epic from Homer Simpson, a recap of Bonzai's trip to Germany to watch their squad play in the World Cup, Cosjobs' masterpiece and snaptastic, witty replies by the best online miscreants I know...Bob Sacamano, Tanner Boyle, Truck, Shuke, Pickles, Krista, YSR, Fatguy, Boston Fred, Ferris, Frosty, Stu, Thorn, Gad, Kev, Charv, Jeep, Hack and if I missed anyone, please let me know.

This thread is safeguarded by Rudnicki. He's got our back, and we've got his. Chip into the beer fund for Rude to keep this thread alive.

A tribute to what was, what should be and what can be: The FFA



Highlights:

My Sister's Reaction to my Mom's Awkward Bridal Shower Toast

Ice Cream Man Fake Out

Moustache Bet Loser

Classic Tannerisms

Wedding Diaries

The Cosjobs Masterpiece

Krista Introduces us to 'Dickmitten'

Shuke's Warning

The Sacamano Slam

Shuke and GM on the Amazing Race?

Frosty Tempts Fate

Thorn on CBS

St. Louis Bob vs. Baskin Robbins

My Vuvuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzela

Triscuit Love

Running With Scissors Runs Game with the Ladies

Kendall Stop: Hammer Time

Rhyme Time

Destiney Calls Homer

I know it's missing a lot, so tell me what I'm missing here and I'll add it to the first post. Thanks.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

So I go online today to pay my credit card bills and my Mastercard is really high and I had not used it much lately.but let me go back a little ways, first.Last weekend, I had to miss my GBGM's wedding. I just had too much going on to take off 3-4 days to go to Detroit.Thursday night his soon-to-be BIL was throwing a bachelor party / poker game in his honor and I decided it would be good schtick to have some strippers deliver an ice cream cake to the event and dance to some Neil Young songs.So after calling around the greater Detroit area, I finally found a stripp-o-gram operation that promised to pick up an ice cream cake, take it to the poker game, and serve it to the guests while singing Heart of Gold and Southern Man in the nude. The only catch was that I had to find and pay for an ice cream cake. I tell them to give me an hour and I'll call them back.Eva's ice Cream in Lake Orion seemed like the best choice after some Google searching, so I call them up. but they sell ice cream. And they sell cakes. but they do not sell ice cream cakes. I spend 15 minutes with the owner trying to get her to concoct the unimaginable recipe of smearing a couple of quarts of ice cream on top of one cake and then putting another cake on top of that. I offered her $100 to perform this complicated task and I think I just about had her talked into it, until I told her it needed to be done ASAP before the strippers showed up. She hung up on me and no one there would answer the phone when I repeatedly tried to call back.I tried a few other places with no luck, but finally the Lake Orion DQ told me that they had ice cream cakes ready to go, but they closed in 15 minutes. He even agreed to a credit card payment - if I threw in an extra twenty bucks for the trouble.I called back the strippers, but they said there was no way they could get to Lake Orion before the DQ closed. So I told them to blow it off. That without an ice cream cake it would just be inferior schtick.Evidently the strippers had caller ID, because they called me back twenty minutes later and told me the Kroger sold Ice cream cakes. So I call the Lake Orion Kroger to see if I could charge one of their delicious cakes on my Mastercard for my hired performers ( I had learned that the sensibilities of Western Detroit merchants were offended when it came to holding cakes for strippers).My new-found decorum was lost on the Kroger manager, as he would not let me pay for a cake over the phone no matter who was picking it up.So I called back the strippers and told them it was still a no go because the Kroger wouldn't take a credit card over the phone.So they told me that if I would pay them $375 ($100 over the previously negotiated price) that they would pay for the cake themselves.Ok I said, relenting to their unrealistic demands due to my BAC and determination to see this task through. But that wasn't enough. Evidently the Detroit-based strippers were too inept to get to Lake Orion, unless I was willing to stay on the cell phone while they navigated to the privileged western regions of the county while read turn-by turn directions from Google maps.To help pass the time while they drove, I worked with them on the lyrics to Heart of Gold and Southern Man. Turns out they really did not know either song and were doing a woeful job of memorizing the words while I played an MP3 in the background during our phone conversation. My patience is running thin because they only remember half of the chorus to Southern Man and hardly any of Heart of GOld. But they finally make it to the Lake Orion Kroger.Once there they cannot find any ice cream cakes.They find ice cream and they find cakes. But no ice cream cakes.I figured if na Ice Cream shop owner (like Eva from Eva's ice Cream) in Michigan cannot figure out how to transform two cakes and half a gallon ice cream into a delicious ice cream cake - there's no way it worth even attempting to do it over a cell phone with two strippers from Detroit.At this point I've spent over three hours trying to get this done and I am ready to give up. I told them it had to be ice cream cake or the deal was off. They insisted that cake and ice cream was a suitable substitute and I was still obligated to go thru with the deal.Sorry, strippers, but that was not the agreement. Several minutes and hundreds of profanities later I turned off my cell and ended the once- flourishing relationship.About that time Charvik calls me on my home phone. I had left him a message several hours earlier to try and help me coordinate the stripper and ice cream cake fiasco. I briefly attempted to enlist his support in obtaining an ice cream cake, but I don't know if you have ever tried communicating with a drunken Norwegian who is barely understandable when sober, but its not pretty. Or productive. He finally hands off the phone to Forrest.I still ahve glimmers of hope that I may somehow pull this off as a surprise, so I have to chat with Forrest and pretend that I am just calling to wish him luck yada yada yada. I finally get his drunk ### off the phone and he gives the receiver to JTC, who is also in town for the festivities. His complete drunkenness makes him even more indecipherable than the drunken Norwegian who first called me. By this time its almost midnight and I decide to give up. I had given it my best shot and failed.Now I see the strippers charged me $375 with a $500 tip for their troubles. That seems excessive since they never delivered cake, took off their clothes or learned any of the Neil young lyrics. I think I may file a dispute over the charges.

Holy #### how did I miss this I still remember when Cosjobs called me in Vegas during Hossgate to tell me that he sent me and Red money via neteller to gamble with I love you CosPlus whenever you would call me you always made sure to use my name "Mexican" Hey Mexican this is Damon, you know Cosjobs from the boards

 

[PeterSam]

But seriously boneable.

Does he shave his chest? I haven't voted yet.

No idea. From the picture YSR just posted I would say probably? Normally I'm not down with that, but he's an actor and sometimes that requires altering your body image.

Nope.

You have to admire that he goes with trim chest hair instead of wax or electrolysis. Grrrr...

 

[Early_10]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

Hey Early, these guys are from Newfoundland!

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT KNOW GBS? I went to school with Alan Doyle, good friends with his younger sister. And Sean McCann is a distant cousin of hubbys. They are awesome. Best twist on Irish drinking music out there. :tadbiased:

 

[General Malaise]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

Hey Early, these guys are from Newfoundland!

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT KNOW GBS? I went to school with Alan Doyle, good friends with his younger sister. And Sean McCann is a distant cousin of hubbys. They are awesome. Best twist on Irish drinking music out there. :tadbiased:

I rely on Jzilla and Sorchy to keep me current on music and thus far, they haven't introduced me to this band. Looking forward to it!

 

[KGB]

on a side note, the WD TV is awesome! (even though Dell's delivery service may suck)

how are you using this? for what reasons?

 

[Early_10]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

Hey Early, these guys are from Newfoundland!

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT KNOW GBS? I went to school with Alan Doyle, good friends with his younger sister. And Sean McCann is a distant cousin of hubbys. They are awesome. Best twist on Irish drinking music out there. :tadbiased:

I rely on Jzilla and Sorchy to keep me current on music and thus far, they haven't introduced me to this band. Looking forward to it!

Tell them Donnie and Raelene said hi. Excursion Around the Bay is for you. Old Black Rum? A lot of songs I grew up listening to my dad sing. You'll certainly enjoy yourself.

 

[Frostillicus]

I went into the Shark Pool today. Figured we're getting close to fantasy draft time so I'd see what the buzz was all about.

I made it halfway through one thread, and then about three posts into another, and I came back here.

That place just ain't right.

 

[Sheriff Bart]

hey

 

[McJose]

hey

you too?

 

[Sheriff Bart]

hey

you too?

Oui.

 

[kevzilla]

I went into the Shark Pool today. Figured we're getting close to fantasy draft time so I'd see what the buzz was all about.

I made it halfway through one thread, and then about three posts into another, and I came back here.

That place just ain't right.

Says the guy who live-blogs craptastic SyFy movies.I assume you've heard about Sharktopus?

 

[Mr. Pickles]

hey

you too?

Oui.

Once you go unbannable, you never go back.

 

[Frostillicus]

I went into the Shark Pool today. Figured we're getting close to fantasy draft time so I'd see what the buzz was all about.

I made it halfway through one thread, and then about three posts into another, and I came back here.

That place just ain't right.

Says the guy who live-blogs craptastic SyFy movies.I assume you've heard about Sharktopus?

Can't wait.

 

[Sheriff Bart]

hey

you too?

Oui.

Once you go unbannable, you never go back.

Man, tell me about it.

 

[McJose]

hey

you too?

Oui.

jeez

 

[charvik]

on a side note, the WD TV is awesome! (even though Dell's delivery service may suck)

how are you using this? for what reasons?

Well, first of all, the credit for me even having one should go to zilla... and I purchased one as a gift for a technologically challenged friend to help him out with photos and home videos, tried and loved it.I have around 500-600 DVDs and it's a pain to store them, they take up tons of room and it's a mess to sort and find what you need. My wife also takes photos, and I'm talking brit-level when it comes to quantity, easily 5,000, along with home videos. Getting all these medias to play in one location (our flat screen) to show to friends/family/daughter/ourselves was a pain. I used to have a media server hooked up, and while I liked it, the wife wasn't thrilled. It was too hard to use I guess.Enter WD TV Live Plus...One device, one HDMI cable to the TV and two USB storage devices hooked up straight to it. It instantly recognizes all photos (folders), plays any format video, all music and anything else that exists on the hard drives. The Live Plus also has a network component, so it picks up files and information from attached units, like my wifes laptop.So, I have now been able to put 500+ DVDs, and 1,000+ CDs with music in storage, and have it all stored on 2 2Tb HDDs attached to the WD TV.(added bonus is that it plays anything you happen to find online *ahem*, has netflix and other nice little features)

 

[charvik]

not sure if that made sense or not... I've been at happy hour since 4-ish this afternoon and just got back...

 

[CGRdrJoe]

not sure if that made sense or not... I've been at happy hour since 4-ish this afternoon and just got back...

It would make perfect sense if we could all speak swedish

 

[krista4]

Aw, crap. I was thinking that my loyalties lay more with family members who planned on seeing me this weekend than with people I had not seen in X years. To be clear, the reunion is Saturday but I asked a bunch of people to meet us on Friday at a bar after dinner and had a 100% response rate, but I didn't feel so responsible for that given that they could go on without me. I don't wanna be a dickmitten.

What is a dickmitten? If you go, it's a safe bet that you'll have some fun.

Dickmitten = everything we don't want to be.I know I'm just feeling sad tonight (or, this week, or, this month), but I'm also all verklempt about Chicago for the first time since we left. In a "what have I done" sort of way.

I know what you mean about missing Chicago. I miss NJ sometimes (believe it or not). I miss being so close to my family, being so close to Philly and AC, etc. but I know that if I moved back up there tomorrow, I'd miss stuff down here in Florida too (low taxes, the beach, it not being cold in the winter time, etc.)Stick it out for a couple of years and then do a list of pro's and cons between the two places.

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

 

[krista4]

We are supposed to leave on Friday to go to [name of medium-sized Southern/Midwestern/border-state/non-Missouri-compromise-involved city] for my [alarmingly high number]th high-school reunion. I went to our [slightly less alarmingly high number]th reunion five years ago. Didn't intend to go to this one until some [people I wasn't close to in high school but are now cool] people convinced me to go.I'm rethinking this whole thing, since it will involve (1) getting away from a job that is horribly busy and freaking me out right now and probably going to require me to work the whole time anyway, for purposes of (2) seeing people I can get more than enough contact with from Facebook.The problem is that my [extremely whittled down since most of them are dead anyway] family was going to see us for a little bit, and I hate disappointing them.I kind of know the answer here, but I need [you do not suck for neglecting your family for six weeks until you are scheduled to see them again anyway] reassurance.TIA.

I live in the town I grew up in, my oldest son has at least two of the same teachers at the same high school I went to and my parents and inlaws live on the same street like 3 miles away. Anyone from high school worth still seeing I meet regularly at the supermarket or ball field or playground. Reunions seem pointless.

Yeah, definitely not the case for me, which is generally a very good thing.

 

[krista4]

We are supposed to leave on Friday to go to [name of medium-sized Southern/Midwestern/border-state/non-Missouri-compromise-involved city] for my [alarmingly high number]th high-school reunion. I went to our [slightly less alarmingly high number]th reunion five years ago. Didn't intend to go to this one until some [people I wasn't close to in high school but are now cool] people convinced me to go.I'm rethinking this whole thing, since it will involve (1) getting away from a job that is horribly busy and freaking me out right now and probably going to require me to work the whole time anyway, for purposes of (2) seeing people I can get more than enough contact with from Facebook.The problem is that my [extremely whittled down since most of them are dead anyway] family was going to see us for a little bit, and I hate disappointing them.I kind of know the answer here, but I need [you do not suck for neglecting your family for six weeks until you are scheduled to see them again anyway] reassurance.TIA.

How much time would the reunion consume? Is it a whole weekend kind of thing, with events Friday night and Saturday night, etc? My thought is, go back home and spend time with your family. Go to one of the reunion events to honor the commitment and spend the other previously-planned-reunion time working.You may be glad you went. I find that the things I'm not looking forward to doing (e.g. girls' weekends that have been planned for a while but I lack the energy to do when the time comes) end up being the most fun once I just suck it up and do it.

Really another awesome posting. I definitely find that I can force myself into social situations when I'm not in the mood and have a surprisingly great time.The whole point is moot now (or mute, depending upon who you are), as there's no way I'll be able to get away from work to go. Not sure if I'm relieved or bummed. I do feel guilty, though, which is pretty much my normal state of being.

 

[krista4]

LOOK AT ME, I WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!

AND NOT JUST LAST WEEK TRYING TO PICK UP CHICKS

at both

 

[Alex P Keaton]

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

k - that stuff takes time though. Take it from someone who has lived in 4 different metro areas (5 cities, 6 apartments/condos/houses) in the past decade. Each place takes time to find the people you truly connect with....and maybe this isn't the right terminology, but there is a grieving period that you don't go through immediately, but eventually it hits you. Heck, it's probably a sign that Memphis is a GREAT place for you! Because it's taken you this LONG to finally hit that grieving period. As Exit suggested, give it time. It'll either all be good, or you will realize it was a huge mistake, at which point you can move back to Chi-town (or elsewhere).

 

[Alex P Keaton]

The whole point is moot now (or mute, depending upon who you are)

Irregardless.....

 

[krista4]

Interested in everyone's thoughts

You know what I love about questions like that? How many guys fall all over themselves making sure you know they're not gay by refusing to answer the question, and telling you that they refuse to answer the question.I picked Ryan and Scarlet, FYI.

I didn't read the thread but voted Ryan and Scarlett and it's not even close.As between Scarlett and Angelina, it's close in that I'd give up my heterosexuality to do either one of them (well, if I were receiving). But Brad is not the least bit attractive to me, while Ryan is the guy that I keep finding out is the "Shirtless Friday" guy in stupid posts from my stupid high school friends I won't be seeing this weekend. Really, these x-year-old women will post these on Fridays, and I never know who it is, and when I ask about a hot one it's always Ryan Reynolds.

 

[krista4]

Pretty much all of my reunion-related activities are based 100% on guilt. These are good folks.

Sounds like a family to me.

I actually like all my family and want to spend time with them, except my brother, whom I could easily do without.

 

[krista4]

It really is cute how our dog, appropriately named "Shadow", follows me around everywhere. It's always awkward though when I need to take care of business and he's staring at me.

The best pet I ever had was my cat Camille, whom I adopted when I graduated from law school. Unlike most cats, she knew her name and was incredibly loyal, to the point where I could stand anywhere in my house and call for her and she'd come running like I was Timmy stuck in a well. Her oddity, though, was that she loved to sit in your lap and purr like crazy while you were, ummmm, excavating your bowels. The first time I went out of town and had a friend stay with her, I neglected to mention this, and my friend experienced a huge shock when she sat down and Camille came running from the other side of the apartment to "cuddle" during this special time.

 

[krista4]

can we stop gaying up this thread with Ryan Reynolds?

rhyme talk was way better.

No x's big enough or red enough for this.

 

[charvik]

not sure if that made sense or not... I've been at happy hour since 4-ish this afternoon and just got back...

It would make perfect sense if we could all speak swedish

AND had been with me at happy hour

 

[krista4]

But seriously boneable.

Does he shave his chest? I haven't voted yet.

No idea. From the picture YSR just posted I would say probably? Normally I'm not down with that, but he's an actor and sometimes that requires altering your body image.

Nope.

You have to admire that he goes with trim chest hair instead of wax or electrolysis. Grrrr...

Not really. That in-between look looks gross to me.

 

[charvik]

Aw, crap. I was thinking that my loyalties lay more with family members who planned on seeing me this weekend than with people I had not seen in X years. To be clear, the reunion is Saturday but I asked a bunch of people to meet us on Friday at a bar after dinner and had a 100% response rate, but I didn't feel so responsible for that given that they could go on without me.

I don't wanna be a dickmitten.

What is a dickmitten? If you go, it's a safe bet that you'll have some fun.

Dickmitten = everything we don't want to be.I know I'm just feeling sad tonight (or, this week, or, this month), but I'm also all verklempt about Chicago for the first time since we left. In a "what have I done" sort of way.

I know what you mean about missing Chicago. I miss NJ sometimes (believe it or not). I miss being so close to my family, being so close to Philly and AC, etc. but I know that if I moved back up there tomorrow, I'd miss stuff down here in Florida too (low taxes, the beach, it not being cold in the winter time, etc.)Stick it out for a couple of years and then do a list of pro's and cons between the two places.

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.

I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

This makes perfect sense to me... I wonder if it's because of my BAC, or if it's the similarity of moving from a cold weather climate to a warm. I see the same thigns in Houston.

 

[krista4]

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

k - that stuff takes time though. Take it from someone who has lived in 4 different metro areas (5 cities, 6 apartments/condos/houses) in the past decade. Each place takes time to find the people you truly connect with....and maybe this isn't the right terminology, but there is a grieving period that you don't go through immediately, but eventually it hits you. Heck, it's probably a sign that Memphis is a GREAT place for you! Because it's taken you this LONG to finally hit that grieving period. As Exit suggested, give it time. It'll either all be good, or you will realize it was a huge mistake, at which point you can move back to Chi-town (or elsewhere).

Thank you for the good thoughts. It is definitely much better than, for instance, when I moved to LA (twice) and almost immediately knew it wasn't for me, lasting five months the second time. There are lots of great things about being here. It's a way of life that's very appealing but just might or might not fit. I move FAST, really faster than anyone I know, and things here are soooooo slow. That's just a small example. Maybe we'll find our niche--I hope so. Like I said, the people are incredibly nice, and that can't be overlooked.

 

[krista4]

What is a dickmitten?

If you go, it's a safe bet that you'll have some fun.

Dickmitten = everything we don't want to be.I know I'm just feeling sad tonight (or, this week, or, this month), but I'm also all verklempt about Chicago for the first time since we left. In a "what have I done" sort of way.

I know what you mean about missing Chicago. I miss NJ sometimes (believe it or not). I miss being so close to my family, being so close to Philly and AC, etc. but I know that if I moved back up there tomorrow, I'd miss stuff down here in Florida too (low taxes, the beach, it not being cold in the winter time, etc.)Stick it out for a couple of years and then do a list of pro's and cons between the two places.

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.

I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

This makes perfect sense to me... I wonder if it's because of my BAC, or if it's the similarity of moving from a cold weather climate to a warm. I see the same thigns in Houston.

Where did you move from? From what I've seen so far, I could understand the similarities of Memphis as a smaller but somewhat more interesting (due to history) Houston.Another example of what I'm describing: there are several "society" type free monthly or weekly publications that come out here. Basically at any decent-sized fundraiser someone is taking pictures, and there are a variety of publications that just publish this stuff. We are not going to any more charitable events than we ever did, but somehow not only have we shown up on a million of these pictures already, but my friends or people at work notice this and mention it to me or even give me a copy. As far as I know, there is no such publication in Chicago. One of my friends here even commented that the photographers "know" who you are and want to get you in their pictures.

In Chicago, we were very small potatoes. Here it seems like that's just not acceptable and that being part of "society" is where it's at, even if you don't care about it. It's why we enjoyed our time last weekend with these crazy music, not-in-society-magazine types. Just seemed so much more normal!

 

[Tremendous Upside]

Welcome to the South, Krista

 

[krista4]

Welcome to the South, Krista

Thanks, LHUCKS.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

As far as I know, there is no such publication in Chicago.

FYI k, there is a publication like that in Chicago.

 

[Gadzooks]

Probably been posted before, but it makes me laugh almost as much as the crazy rainbow-loving guy.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

 

[krista4]

As far as I know, there is no such publication in Chicago.

FYI k, there is a publication like that in Chicago.

Perfect. The fact that I lived there for 18 years and never knew it existed, yet here it is a big deal, helps explain what I'm saying. What is it called there? The South has its plusses and minuses. I just don't think I fit here. Despite that, we might be here a while.

 

[Samuel L Bronkowitz]

No one cares about softball but I had to drop this nugget.

Tonight I was 0-1.

With 5 walks.

Not one pitch was hittable. 2 went behind me. A leadoff hitter's job is to get on base but tonight was recockyoulus

 

[General Malaise]

Going to see these guys tonight at the Oregon Zoo. Never heard of them before, but hey, it's free for zoo members, it's out on the lawn and they sell beer and wine. Beats sitting around doing nothing.

Hey Early, these guys are from Newfoundland!

HOW THE HELL CAN YOU NOT KNOW GBS? I went to school with Alan Doyle, good friends with his younger sister. And Sean McCann is a distant cousin of hubbys. They are awesome. Best twist on Irish drinking music out there. :tadbiased:

AWE SOME!Had trouble seeing them from our spot of grass....huge Newfoundland Flag waving around in front of us all night. Great fun had by all. These guys know how to put on a show. Glad we went!

 

[wilked]

GM, what's up GB...I am in Amsterdam waiting a flight connection, want to keep me company?

 

[General Malaise]

on a side note, the WD TV is awesome! (even though Dell's delivery service may suck)

how are you using this? for what reasons?

Well, first of all, the credit for me even having one should go to zilla... and I purchased one as a gift for a technologically challenged friend to help him out with photos and home videos, tried and loved it.I have around 500-600 DVDs and it's a pain to store them, they take up tons of room and it's a mess to sort and find what you need. My wife also takes photos, and I'm talking brit-level when it comes to quantity, easily 5,000, along with home videos. Getting all these medias to play in one location (our flat screen) to show to friends/family/daughter/ourselves was a pain. I used to have a media server hooked up, and while I liked it, the wife wasn't thrilled. It was too hard to use I guess.Enter WD TV Live Plus...One device, one HDMI cable to the TV and two USB storage devices hooked up straight to it. It instantly recognizes all photos (folders), plays any format video, all music and anything else that exists on the hard drives. The Live Plus also has a network component, so it picks up files and information from attached units, like my wifes laptop.So, I have now been able to put 500+ DVDs, and 1,000+ CDs with music in storage, and have it all stored on 2 2Tb HDDs attached to the WD TV.(added bonus is that it plays anything you happen to find online *ahem*, has netflix and other nice little features)

Man. One day, I intend on flying you out here for about a week so you can upgrade my life. I'll pay you in booze and gambling markers.

 

[General Malaise]

This really is an excellent posting. And I'm really not at all unhappy here generally, and the list of pros and cons would probably favor Memphis. I can't imagine ever living in that weather or traffic again.Maybe like you with NJ, I just don't feel like I "fit" here so much. We have made a ton of friends because it is such a friendly and open place--probably have a more active social life than we did even after 18 years in Chicago. But last weekend we went out with the first people that felt like our Chicago friends did, and it was noticeable. As great as people are here, there's just an edge that's missing. There's not as much depth, a lot more superficiality, so many more people that say to me "Oh, this is Eric, you should get to know him" because of his status rather than that I would WANT to get to know him.I'm not describing very well. I just feel like I have a lot of friends here but few real connections to people.

k - that stuff takes time though. Take it from someone who has lived in 4 different metro areas (5 cities, 6 apartments/condos/houses) in the past decade. Each place takes time to find the people you truly connect with....and maybe this isn't the right terminology, but there is a grieving period that you don't go through immediately, but eventually it hits you. Heck, it's probably a sign that Memphis is a GREAT place for you! Because it's taken you this LONG to finally hit that grieving period. As Exit suggested, give it time. It'll either all be good, or you will realize it was a huge mistake, at which point you can move back to Chi-town (or OREGON).

Fixed. You'd have loved it here, GB.