Friday!!

VarunaTT

We're almost finished!!  

I get new ink at 4 pm!  I'm excited about it.  I've been excited about it (I'm getting the word "boundaries" tattooed on my inner left arm for various personal reasons), but then I twisted myself into a situation last night that is exactly why I'm getting this reminder someplace I can easily see it.

I work this weekend.  Amazon Flex also sent me their stuff finally, so I might sign up for that too, try it out and see which one I like better.

Otherwise, no really big news.  Going over to my parents this weekend to help mom with some stuff and studying.  Going to see Snake Eyes tonight, made myself buy the ticket so I'd actually go and keep myself out of situations.

mrsconn23

I'm fighting with bigots on my mom board about how you are ignorant if you teach your kids that marriage is between a man and a woman only because your religion tells your that you should.  We've had one person leave.  I cannot believe the arguments people are making when we have members of the group that are LGBTQ+ and other people who have had children come out.   It's fucking ridiculous in the year of our lord 2021. 

We are 99% white cis ladies.  Clearly some people have learned nothing over the last year and a half.  IDK why I expected better, but there are people who can have several seats.  

I should try to get some work done.  LOL  

banana468

This week FLEW by.   

It finally feels like summer here.  I'm hoping for outdoor dining, boating and enough sunshine I need to wear my super fashionable long-sleeved sun shirt.  

Side note: even with wearing sunscreen every day in Florida I started to notice that the vitiligo patches on my skin are standing out more and more (like armpits).  I'm waiting to see if it's on my face or if I have a sunglass tan and will likely address it at my next dermatologist appointment.  My normal skin tone is usually the lightest foundation shade so it is not very apparent however I need to be diligent if my body will not have a normal protective response to leaving the home and being staying inside all the time is not a solution. 

kvruns

Varuna what did you take on as a second job on the weekends? A delivery type service?

VarunaTT

kvruns said:

Varuna what did you take on as a second job on the weekends? A delivery type service?

Right now, I'm doing the personal shopping service at Walmart.  It's super easy and amazingly organized, but I do still have some personal interaction with customers and I'm iffy on that.  Also, it's just been awhile since I've worked retail and there are some things that I'm chafing at already.  Amazon Flex also states more money/hour and similar flexibility.

ILoveBeachMusic

I've gotten in my workout this morning and finished cleaning house- getting ready for DD and family plus company next week. Need to finish up some laundry stuff. H is out at the grocery stocking up on all the food for the grandsons. I'm goin to a celebration of life for the mother of a friend this afternoon. It has been a tough year for my friend.

MyNameIsNot

I just got back from an early doc appointment. Mostly routine, but an unsuccessful blood draw and I'm walking around covered in bandaids. I drank 60 oz of water this morning and thought I would be good, but my veins are stupid. So it will be more water and another attempt next week. 

Otherwise, I'm so glad we've made it to Friday! Nothing much exciting going on this weekend. Hopefully tubing on the river tomorrow and working on some organization Sunday. Will get in a hike too if the weather will stay nice. 

levioosa

Thank goodness it’s Friday. FSIL and FBIL are supposed to come over this weekend. Our original plan was our so called Crustade where we hike 12 miles and then walk to downtown for lunch and drinks but for various reasons it looks like that might not be our best option. We’ll have fun either way.

Otherwise just trying to brace myself for the rest of the work day. I’m so glad I have a vacation to look forward to in a month. Hike tonight and tomorrow either way and I have plans to get parts of my life organized and more optimally healthy this weekend. 

missJeanLouise

You guys start the chat so early when I am not 9+ hours ahead of you, lol!

We made to America. DS did AMAZING on the flights. We even got compliments from the Italian couple ahead of us because they didn't even know he was there for 9hours. The Chicago layover was a nightmare but we made it.

It's been a wonderful time so far. I love showing DS around, introducing him to people, just being gable to be outside in glorious weather. He hasn't had jetlag basically at all so I am feeling extremely lucky.

Going to the Zoo today. My sister's bachelorette is tomorrow, breakfast with the homies on Sunday (might ask my mom to babysit but her & my relationship is the only shadow on this trip). 

STARMOON44

It has been a rough week at work! Everyone else is on vacation and I’m stuck doing it all. But I’ll be out in 5 days on my own vacation so it’s fine. Booked my return Covid tests today! This weekend is all about packing. I refuse to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off pre-departure. 

charlotte989875

I’m supposed to be off by my team effed up some data this morning so I’ve put in a few hours already today. And we heard this morning H’s aunt passed away this morning. Thankfully her husband was able to be with her in the nursing home the last two days but still really sad. 

Getting ready for M’s party this weekend and just trying to spend some time together. 

mrsconn23

I'm sorry for your loss @charlotte989875

short+sassy

mrsconn23 said:

I'm fighting with bigots on my mom board about how you are ignorant if you teach your kids that marriage is between a man and a woman only because your religion tells your that you should.  We've had one person leave.  I cannot believe the arguments people are making when we have members of the group that are LGBTQ+ and other people who have had children come out.   It's fucking ridiculous in the year of our lord 2021. 

We are 99% white cis ladies.  Clearly some people have learned nothing over the last year and a half.  IDK why I expected better, but there are people who can have several seats.  

I should try to get some work done.  LOL  

This was years ago, but I had a friend who was vehemently against same sex marriage being allowed under the law.

I asked him why.  He used religion as an excuse.

I pointed out to him that we have freedom of religion in this country so, while that is fine (for the sake of the argument) for HIS CHURCH to not perform same sex marriages, why does his religion/church get to tell my City Hall who they can marry?

He came again with religion a few times, while I explained that same concept again (banging my head against the wall).  So I finally told him he needed to give me a reason that is not religion based.  I wasn't trying to be argumentative or pedantic, at least at that point.  I genuinely wanted to know a "legally valid" reason why same sex marriage should not be allowed.  Because "my religion" is the only reason I'd ever heard people say.

He had to think about it, but then grasped at this straw.  He said it's because the reason for people to get married is to produce children.  I laughed and told him, while that might be HIS opinion, it is absolutely not true from a legal perspective.  But said I would play devil's advocate with him on it.

"So, you're saying that people who chose not to have children.  Or people who know they are infertile.  Or women who have already gone through menopause.  Shouldn't be allowed to get married?  Really?  That seems awfully overstepping and downright cruel.  Plus it's discriminating against gender because men can be fertile potentially their whole lives, but women aren't."

Oh, no, no, no.  That wasn't what I meant, that's different.  Okay.  Then what did you mean?  How is it different?  Those were your words, for your argument.  I'm just following the natural path they go down.  Of course, he couldn't explain why it was different.  Just that it was.

I finally told him I'd let him off the hook.  But had wanted him to see how ridiculous it was to think the only purpose of marriage was to produce natural offspring.

I know I didn't change his mind.  I didn't expect to.  But I hoped I'd opened it and planted some seeds.   

CharmedPam

Yay! So glad you had an uneventful flight @missJeanLouise! Enjoy your stay in America.
@VarunaTT I may be talked into Snake Eyes so give me an opinion on it Monday to someone who’s not a GI joe fan… me. 

@mrsconn23, how annoying about the board.  Are the people (or person) leaving the bigot? Because… weeding…

speaking of weeding.  My parents came in on Wednesday night. I went to work yestersay and while at work they: fixed my front door, my cabinet, my grill, weeded my entire property and set up their old inflatable hot tub on my deck.  So if anyone needs me this weekend, I’m soaking up the bubbles. 

I logged in my work computer this morning and came in late.  It was glorious taking that extra hr and a half in the morning since I got up at the normal time.  I Relaxed, took my time getting ready, and made bacon and eggs (normally I don’t have time to make breakfast in the morning) even. 

charlotte989875

mrsconn23 said:

I'm sorry for your loss @charlotte989875

Thank you! She was 90 and had a really great life and we’ll miss her. 

CharmedPam

Awww sorry about your loss @charlotte989875

Yeah I need more of a reason than “religion” too, @short+sassy.  What about my married friends who got married for the sake of marriage and had no offspring? Were they supposed to have kids? ‘Cus they (and myself included) missed that memo…

banana468

Ditto to needing more than religion.  If that's the case are these same people OK with Vegas weddings that do not require any waiting time for a license, premarital counseling and have been reported to occur when one or both are not of sound mind?   

What about Catholics who oppose same sex marriage but seem to turn a blind eye to the legality of a civil 2nd marriage because the first was not annulled in the church?   

You're going to have to help me understand the way you can compartmentalize all of that.  

levioosa

I’m so sorry for your loss @charlotte989875

short+sassy

Another boring day at work, but at least I'm off in about an hour.

I was really disappointed with a shoe purchase.  I want to find some great, super comfortable walking shoes for my upcoming trip to NYC.  Preferably slip-on.  I bought a pair of Sketchers Go Walks on Amazon.

They had tens of thousands of 5-star reviews and I've found Sketchers really comfortable in the past with their memory foam soles.  I wore them around the house for about 15 minutes and they seemed awesome.

I wore them out that night.  We walked around Costco for about 20-30 minutes and then out to dinner.  By the time I got home, the top of each big toe was hurting a little, like they had been cramped.  But I don't even know why!  The shoes weren't too tight at all.  It didn't feel like the shoe was pressing down on my toes, yet they were sore (sigh).  I'm going to contact Amazon and see if I can return them.  But, since they were already worn a tiny bit, I'm probably SOL.  And that is why I HATE shoes and refuse to spend much money on them.  Sometimes you can tell it's a bad fit when you first try it on.  But, for me, I usually can't tell if a shoe is going to work for me until after I've worn it for a good while.

My new laptop should be coming on Saturday.  I don't understand why I couldn't just pick it up today but, whatever.  To have it shipped meant it comes on Saturday, whereas the earliest pick-up was Aug. 11th.  Even though this laptop is in-stock at a nearby Best Buy.  

After work today, I have two errands to run.  The bank and the grocery store.

I'm so excited to try a new restaurant, though I don't think we'll go until next weekend.  I was reading one of those online "listicle" articles.  It was naming the 11 best restaurants in the US that are located in a hotel.  One of them is in NOLA (yay!) and there was one pic of it in the article.  The hotel is in a 150+ year old church and the dining room for the restaurant is in the cathedral.  It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.  Added bonus, they are part of restaurant month.  Their brunch special is a passionfruit mimosa, salad, and chorizo entree for $32/person.  Here's a pic of the dining area:

kerbohl

short+sassy said:

Another boring day at work, but at least I'm off in about an hour.

I was really disappointed with a shoe purchase.  I want to find some great, super comfortable walking shoes for my upcoming trip to NYC.  Preferably slip-on.  I bought a pair of Sketchers Go Walks on Amazon.

They had tens of thousands of 5-star reviews and I've found Sketchers really comfortable in the past with their memory foam soles.  I wore them around the house for about 15 minutes and they seemed awesome.

I wore them out that night.  We walked around Costco for about 20-30 minutes and then out to dinner.  By the time I got home, the top of each big toe was hurting a little, like they had been cramped.  But I don't even know why!  The shoes weren't too tight at all.  It didn't feel like the shoe was pressing down on my toes, yet they were sore (sigh).  I'm going to contact Amazon and see if I can return them.  But, since they were already worn a tiny bit, I'm probably SOL.  And that is why I HATE shoes and refuse to spend much money on them.  Sometimes you can tell it's a bad fit when you first try it on.  But, for me, I usually can't tell if a shoe is going to work for me until after I've worn it for a good while.

My new laptop should be coming on Saturday.  I don't understand why I couldn't just pick it up today but, whatever.  To have it shipped meant it comes on Saturday, whereas the earliest pick-up was Aug. 11th.  Even though this laptop is in-stock at a nearby Best Buy.  

After work today, I have two errands to run.  The bank and the grocery store.

I'm so excited to try a new restaurant, though I don't think we'll go until next weekend.  I was reading one of those online "listicle" articles.  It was naming the 11 best restaurants in the US that are located in a hotel.  One of them is in NOLA (yay!) and there was one pic of it in the article.  The hotel is in a 150+ year old church and the dining room for the restaurant is in the cathedral.  It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.  Added bonus, they are part of restaurant month.  Their brunch special is a passionfruit mimosa, salad, and chorizo entree for $32/person.  Here's a pic of the dining area:

That looks gorgeous!  Wow!  

I'm looking forward to the weekend.  Today I am two weeks since my second shot, so I feel .... slightly less stressed, though still being cautious about everything.  My sister is coming down to look at apartments in my area because SHE MIGHT BE MOVING BACK HERE!!!  In case you can't tell, I am very, very excited at the prospect.  She has lived three hours away for almost 20 years, and if she lives closer I can visit and hang out with her a lot more.  But it's still very, very up in the air.  It depends if BIL gets a FT job in his field here, and right now he just has PT (hence why they need an apartment because he is moving here for a few months to see if it becomes FT).  I really hope things fall into place.

I know quite a few people who are "marriage is for procreating", and it's really annoying.  I sort of keep my mouth shut about not wanting kids.  But the sad thing is, someone I know can't have children but it seems like her parents have made her think that she would be doing a disservice to her future spouse because she is forcing someone else to not have kids if she marries.  That's so messed up.  

I have decided on a living roof for my fairy house.  I'm going to stick succulents in some cracks I make in it, and go that route.

short+sassy

CharmedPam said:

Awww sorry about your loss @charlotte989875

Yeah I need more of a reason than “religion” too, @short+sassy.  What about my married friends who got married for the sake of marriage and had no offspring? Were they supposed to have kids? ‘Cus they (and myself included) missed that memo…

Actually, I feel like there are unfortunately a lot of "memos".  I just chose to ignore them, lol.

At the time I had that conversation, I wasn't married.  But I already knew I didn't want children.  What started as something I'd hoped would be an enlightening discussion to better understand both POVs.  Ended up personally offending me.

Because, although he quickly acknowledged that "of course" hetero infertile/menopausal women should be allowed to get married.  He only "kind of" acknowledged that for people who choose not to have children.  Because "people should have children if they can and that's primarily what marriage is for".  Which is such a weird stance I have never understood.  There is no "under" population crisis pending in most of the world, including this country, so why would anyone even care.

Our friendship had already been fading and it did not last much longer, after this conversation.

---------------------------------------

Which, for totally selfish reasons, now I regret so much.  He had just started going through the K1 visa process with a woman from Laos.  The 90DF reality show didn't exist yet.  But now that I am a 90DF addict, I wish I'd kept in touch, just so I could have gotten some first hand knowledge from an IRL person as to what it was really like, lmao.

It did have all the makings of a train wreck, which I gently tried to warn him to get to know her better and wait longer.  He was originally interested in another Laotian woman and even went to Laos for three weeks because that was one of the requirements to apply for the K-1.  It doesn't have to be 3 weeks all at once, but it needs to be 3 weeks total.  He got frustrated that Woman #1 wasn't following through with her end of the paperwork after his trip and they broke things off.  But, meanwhile, Woman #2 was Woman #1's friend, who he met while he was over there.

They casually stayed in touch and became internet friends, but there was nothing flirty or romantic going on until things ended with Woman #1.  Woman #2 was on his side and blah, blah, blah about how she couldn't believe her friend had treated him so bad.  They started chatting more.  Romance started.  Paperwork-wise and since a full application had never been filed with Woman #1, I think he was trying to pretend his Laos visit was for Woman #2.  They'd started their initial paperwork, but that was about when our friendship faded away and I don't know what came of it.

CharmedPam

Oh @short+sassy that’s some Stephanie/Ryan/Harris shit right there

mrsconn23

Update: Now a second person has left.  They're actually the one that started the fire in the first place with their comment about what they are teaching their kids.

The OP is all, "I didn't mean for this to blow up, LOL", but we're all like, "Um people need to be told." There's some whataboutism going on, so that's fun.  I have a few side conversations going.  But seriously, they literally said that gay marriage is not a real marriage when we have queer people in our group.  How did you think this was gonna go?