Finally Friday!

professorscience

It has been such a stressful week!  Today is the last day of high-stakes testing (AP exam for about 150 students) and I feel like I just slept better last night.  I'm driving up to OKC tomorrow to do the final walkthrough on our house with the realtor tomorrow and then just spending the weekend with my brother.  We close on Monday!  I remember in January thinking there was no way I could survive the first six months of my marriage away from my husband, and it ended up being such a blessing.  If I had quit my job and moved in the middle of the school year, we'd still be stuck in a tiny town in the panhandle of Texas!  I am so grateful to the ladies on this board who prayed for me and offered words of encouragement!

I know we don't have a TON of activity on this board, but I was thinking we might try to do some themed threads, like some of the other boards do.  Obviously not anything like "FFF," I don't really think we're that kind of board, but it might be nice to get some conversations going!  What do you guys think?

What are y'all's weekend plans?

lalaith50

That's so exciting about closing on your house tomorrow! Yay! Hope everything goes perfectly! :-)

We don't really have any big plans for the weekend (DH has been working full-time AND in school for literally the entire time I've known him, so now we're just going to enjoy this summer with -wow- free evenings and weekends! until the fall when we have one, final, intense school year!) 

Our diocese has ordinations tomorrow morning, and DH and I are singing in the choir, so that's always fun. I just love being part of the "action" at these huge, grand, diocesan liturgies. Plus, new priests?! Awesomeness!

I definitely like the idea about having more chatty threads. My initial thought (coming from the constant pessimist/realist in me...) is that one reason it doesn't work so well here is that most of us, if you're like me, probably just check in here a couple times a day (unless there's a heated debate going on, haha...) unlike some of the other boards where a whole bunch of girls sit at their computers allllll day long. I mean, if we got an awesome chatty post going, then maybe we would start hanging around here more, but still, which is it first? The chicken or the egg?

Tami87

That's so exciting about the house professor! My roommate defended her masters thesis yesterday so we have a few people over to celebrate. I may have celebrated a tad too much, so I am not feeling my best this morning. Just got to get through the day. I have no big weekend plans, we are having a few friends over on Saturday which will be fun.

The undergrads are done with finals and there was a mass exodus and crazy traffic yesterday, but now things will be a little more clam around here. It is so much nicer and things tend to be a little more relaxed in the summer. But unlike all my extended family seems to think, even though I am still in school grad students in biology do not get summers off. I will still be slaving away in the lab.

As for wedding news, I mailed my invitations out on Monday (8 week mark) and I started getting a bunch of e-mails and texts yesterday that my friends got their invitations. So that was fun and I can't wait for RSVPs to start coming in! Although, I was a little annoyed that FI's sister and his friend posted status updates about our invitations and tagged us in them. I have been trying to keep wedding details off facebook as much as possible. I guess at some point people are going realize they are not invited and most will understand we couldn't invite everyone, but I still wasn't thrilled that comments about invites kept poping up on my wall. How did everyone else handle the facebook situation?

Also I think themed threads could be fun. I'd participate!

professorscience

Tami, I think you can update your privacy settings so that you have to approve any post in which you're tagged!  I did that so people would stop "checking me in" at random places.  Also, I loved summer school in college more than any other time.  I took that time to do some of my more intense labs and it was great to have that huge campus basically all to myself.  I worked in the education library, which was almost always empty except for a few graduate students, so it was ahhhh-mazing!

Lala, I'm with you.  I participate on E every now and then, but I cannot keep up with their daily threads.  I envy their dedication, sometimes!  I think anything to get some of our lurkers out of the woodwork would be nice.  The debate threads are way fun, but sometimes it can be intimidating to jump into the middle of an argument, especially if you disagree with popular opinion.

What would be some of our themes?  Do we want an AW day where we can brag about the good stuff in our lives?  We could be all sorority and have a "pump-ups" day.  That was actually a thing in my sorority.  You write something good about one of your sisters, and at the end of chapter one of our execs would read them all.

Resa77

Professor, I'm SO excited for your move!!!!  I commend you for going through that difficult time, but I fully believe that good things come to those who wait! 

I think it's a GREAT idea to have themed threads.  Sure, our board isn't as active as some others, but it might get a tiny bit more active with more general/inclusive threads.   I think AW or pump-ups would be fun.  I also think we could do something like Unpopular Opinions...it's a little more controversial, which can stir up conversation, but it's not as aggressive as FFF or AYG.  Just an idea!  I think we can def do a couple different themed threads. 

lalaith50

What's FFF or AYG like?

I really like the idea of "pump-ups" (if it's like what I'm imagining.)

Or, what about threads that have like a specific (kind of cheesy) question at the beginning to get us started chatting, like, "if you could go anywhere on a 5-day vacation starting tomorrow, with no travel time required, where would you go?"

professorscience

I don't know what AYG is, but FFF is Flame Free Friday, which is basically a free ticket to gripe at others.  Everyone usually ends up kissing and making up at the end, but it can get really nasty on some of the International boards (I think E installed an "every other week" rule because they got tired of fighting every Friday).

lalaith50

oh my goodness. wow. yeah, let's not do that... <eyeroll>

Resa77

You know annoyes me?  "Flame free Friday" seems to imply it's a Friday WITHOUT flames.  Like, if I was going to have a "carb free day" it wouldn't mean I just go and eat all the carbs I want, it means I'd be carb-free (or carbless) that day.  It should be "flame freely Friday" meaning that you can freely flame anyone.  I'm a grammar nerd....

professorscience

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_finally-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:bbf20186-76bc-4d83-a168-90c7e66b5395Post:27ff68d3-7214-4383-9a95-73aa6e028d34">Re: Finally Friday!</a>:
[QUOTE]You know annoyes me?  "Flame free Friday" seems to imply it's a Friday WITHOUT flames.  Like, if I was going to have a "carb free day" it wouldn't mean I just go and eat all the carbs I want, it means I'd be carb-free (or carbless) that day.  It should be "flame freely Friday" meaning that you can freely flame anyone.  I'm a grammar nerd....
Posted by Resa77[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it definitely confused me, too.  It's SUPPOSED to mean that you can flame anyone or anything without catching any flack, but it always turns into a huge fight.  It used to on the DFW board, but a lot of the "Them's Fightin' Words" girls have moved on.

caiti2u

Working tomorrow, so not a super exciting weekend. But the office (just a handful of ladies) are taking me out for a bridal lunch today. It's super sweet of them since they already all gifted me a Keurig coffee machine at my shower a couple weeks ago. 

I saw some pics from my friend's DW in Cancun, making me more excited for my own wedding!

I like the idea of themed threads too! 

Resa77

Well, Prof., I think you should start a theme thread!

As for weekend plans, I am pretty busy.  Babysitting, going to a bridal shower, dance recital for nieces, etc etc etc.  I have been so busy lately, and my house shows it lol!  My kitchen is a disaster.  I'm just excited for Memorial Day weekend.  It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.  I like having Monday holidays, and I love summer, so a Monday holiday to kick off summer?  Heck yeah!!!

professorscience

One of the things I dislike most about my district is that we do not end school before Memorial Day.  In fact, most of the schools in Texas go for another week after.  It's so obnoxious.  We have all these kids that end up taking their finals early because their parents plan trips that leave Memorial Day weekend.  I totally don't blame them -- it's summer, y'all!

caiti2u

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_finally-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:bbf20186-76bc-4d83-a168-90c7e66b5395Post:201bb457-bfc4-4396-8dbb-66a49f82a1fe">Re: Finally Friday!</a>:
[QUOTE]What's FFF or AYG like? I really like the idea of "pump-ups" (if it's like what I'm imagining.) Or, what about threads that have like a specific (kind of cheesy) question at the beginning to get us started chatting, like, "if you could go anywhere on a 5-day vacation starting tomorrow, with no travel time required, where would you go?"
Posted by lalaith50[/QUOTE]

<div>My month board has a QOTD (question of the day)... gets good responses. A lot of them are TMI about sex and such, but we could just do some getting to know you type questions</div>

professorscience

Okay, so what we do?

The Dallas board does B**** and Moan Monday, Open Letter Tuesday (Dear job, I hate you.  Dear person, your wedding is really coming together!),  Say Anything Wednesday, AW Thursday, and FFF.

I would think Pump-Ups would be a good thing for a Wednesday thread.  Kind of to get us over the hump for the rest of the week.  I like QOTD, or "Ask a Knottie"-type threads.  I don't mind a little snark, but I think overall we want to keep this board feeling pretty positive overall.

caiti2u

What would "Ask a Knottie" be?

professorscience

Just kind of an open question-type thread.  Ask any member of this board any question (within reason, of course) and wait for the conversation.  I don't know.  I've seen it from time to time on some other boards.  Sometimes the questions are specific to the person ("Prof, what was your major in college and why did you become a teacher?"), and others they're open-ended questions for anyone to answer ("Married ladies, if you could change one thing about the planning of your wedding, what would it be?")  Stuff like that.

Resa77

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_finally-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:bbf20186-76bc-4d83-a168-90c7e66b5395Post:abd1ad7b-4af0-4477-b220-b56a7220d518">Re: Finally Friday!</a>:
[QUOTE]One of the things I dislike most about my district is that we do not end school before Memorial Day.  In fact, most of the schools in Texas go for another week after.  It's so obnoxious.  We have all these kids that end up taking their finals early because their parents plan trips that leave Memorial Day weekend.  I totally don't blame them -- it's summer, y'all!
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

Around here the kids don't get out of school until around Father's Day.  But I went to Catholic school and we got out around Memorial Day, almost always before.

caiti2u

What do y'all think about a prayer post? Since this is a Catholic board. Kinda like prayers of the faithful...

erin5286

I really like the idea of themed threads, I would definitely participate in those!  I agree that ones with a more positive spin, or at least ones that aren't intended to be negative from the outset, would be best.

It's supposed to be 90+ degrees here today, so glad that I work in an airconditioned office!  It's the Fargo Marathon weekend, with the kids' 1/2 mile and mile runs yesterday, 5K event tonight, and 10K/half-marathon/marathon tomorrow.  The weather tomorrow should be OK, but it's supposed to be at it's hottest right around 5 pm, the time of the 5K race.  I'm SO glad I didn't sign up for that one, and will definitely be keeping all those runners in my thoughts and prayers tonight!

lalaith50

Prof- I never remember getting out of school before mid-June! <div>
</div><div>[QUOTE]What do y'all think about a prayer post? Since this is a Catholic board. Kinda like prayers of the faithful...
Posted by caiti2u[/QUOTE] </div><div>love it!</div><div>
</div><div>[QUOTE]You know annoyes me?  "Flame free Friday" seems to imply it's a Friday WITHOUT flames.  Like, if I was going to have a "carb free day" it wouldn't mean I just go and eat all the carbs I want, it means I'd be carb-free (or carbless) that day.  It should be "flame freely Friday" meaning that you can freely flame anyone.  I'm a grammar nerd....
Posted by Resa77[/QUOTE] </div><div>That's EXACTLY what I thought! Maybe it originally meant that, but everyone forgot? (Sort of like how when people say, "I could care less," actually means that they COULD care less, and therefore are not yet at the bottom of their not-caring, which is what they are trying to convey...)</div>

lalaith50

Here's a question to start 

Has anyone ever gotten a legit job off Craigslist?

I just spent a bit of time last night applying to random secretarial-part-time-type jobs, and so far, um, yeah... NOT legit ("we need someone to receive packages for us, and oh, I just happen to be in Australia right now, but you can send me all your personal info...")

But I guess obviously the ones that are actually legit will take a little bit longer to reply than 12 hours! If it's a "real" company, then they'll be collecting resumes for several days or weeks before they get back to you, if they'll even consider you! (Not like at 4am in the morning, so probably sent fron India, "oh, our company is using this website to collect all the resumes, so just go make a profile and upload your resume there..." Wow, that was convenient for um, "job.com"... now they have a new customer! <eyeroll> )

ETA: then if not Craigslist, where IS a legitimate company going to look when they want to hire a new employee?

professorscience

I've been using LinkedIn a lot trying to find non-teaching jobs.  Although now that we're moving to a city with a much bigger market, I will probably be getting a teaching job.  I really did have a hard time finding job search sites that weren't completely user-unfriendly.

So how about this:
Prayers Monday (I don't know what we'd call it), for us to just post what we're praying for that week.
__________ Tuesday?
Pump-Up Wednesdays (or we could be very tongue-in-cheek and call it "Sunshine Wednesday" or "Puppies and Rainbows Wednesdays")
Thankful Thursdays (What blessings do we have this week)
And I got nothin' for Friday.

erin5286

When our office has been hiring additional staff, they've usually just posted an ad in the local newspaper, which also shows up on the online classifieds.  They MAY have posted on Craigslist before, but not lately. 

lalaith50

What's the difference between Thankful and Pump-Up?

professorscience

Pump-Ups would be more like ego boosts for Knotties.  Like, "___________, I really admire ___________ about you."

Resa77

I think thankful is where you can talk about the things in your life that you're thankful for (kinda like an AW), and pump up is more about saying things you like about other Knotties.  I could be wrong, though.

lalaith50

ohhhh, ok.

professorscience

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_finally-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:bbf20186-76bc-4d83-a168-90c7e66b5395Post:ee267902-d83c-4949-aa10-aa2ae976944f">Re: Finally Friday!</a>:
[QUOTE]I think thankful is where you can talk about the things in your life that you're thankful for (kinda like an AW), and pump up is more about saying things you like about other Knotties.  I could be wrong, though.
Posted by Resa77[/QUOTE]

Yes, I feel weird calling something "Attention Wh*re" Day on this board.  :p

Resa77

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_finally-friday-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:bbf20186-76bc-4d83-a168-90c7e66b5395Post:56bc05f7-b30f-4c13-a149-d506e73c492a">Re: Finally Friday!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Finally Friday! : Yes, I feel weird calling something "Attention Wh*re" Day on this board.  :p
Posted by professorscience[/QUOTE]

I was thinking the same thing, so I def feel that "Thankful" is a much better title :)

So we need Tues and Fri? I think it would be good to put something a little more silly/sassy in there, and something a little less "sunshine".  I certainly don't want this to turn into a Mean Girls thing, and don't wantsomething negative, but just something that mixes it up a little.  I thought UO would be fun because it's not negative (well, not inherently) and it's not mean towards people.  It's just things like "I hate Chiptole.  Everyone I know loves Chipotle but I think it's really gross" ( which btw is NOT my opinion...I love Chipotle, it's my favorite restaurant).  We can learn random quirks about each other.  Maybe we could call it something different, like "Quirky Tuesday" or something if "Unpopular Opinions" sounds too negative?

professorscience

That sounds cute!  Also, I am definitely in the Chipotle-hating minority!

ETA: I also don't think we should be all sunshine and rainbows.  Sometimes we discuss things on this board that are unpopular and those are my favorite discussions.  I just know last week was really bad for some people, and we had that thread on "positive thoughts" and it was nice to just have some fun.